5 comments about The Coral.

1. This Liverpool band gives a new, refreshing and rollicking spin to old tunes and invents new sounds in the process. Much fun to listen to and makes you want to get up and dance!



2. As many of the other reviews have said, I first The Coral on the Conan O'Brien Show. I was interested, and actually went and bought the album a few days later even without hearing anything else from the album. This album is definitely different than most music being released today, but it's clear to me where they got their sound from. Only a few of the reviews I read mentioned early Pink Floyd and/or Syd Barrett, and to me, this album sounds A LOT like the early Pink Floyd era. The short, wacked-out, psychedelic songs clearly have the Syd Barrett signature sound, especially "Skeleton Key". Almost every song has some resembelence to the early Pink Floyd days. Sometimes its a guitar riff, sometimes a certain lyric, but in either case, it's similiar. I'm not calling the Coral cheap rip-offs of Syd Barrett, nor am I saying this is a bad album, I'm simply saying that if there had been no Syd Barrett, the Coral probably wouldn't be a blessing for us today, which is simply, something different from all the other junk out there today. this is a breath of fresh air, and it's definitely a good choice.



3. This was a great unique CD, with familiar 60s garage band sound. I recommend it to anyone who likes that type of music.



4. I had never heard of The Coral but their song Dreaming of You is featured in an episode of Scrubs. It is a damn fine pop song and I had to check out the rest of the album. So...no other song on the disc sounds remotely like it. This disc seems like something put together by late 60's and early 70's acid/psychedelic bands. I hear influences by early Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Santana, Donovan, maybe some Moody Blues and Jefferson Airplane. No one song has the same exact sound influence but it is all so groovy and funky. You would never guess by listnening that it was a modern artist or recording.
   
   So that is a description, but does it rock? Hell yeah. I first listened to it in my car but if you have a pair of headphones, jam it on your MP3.
   
   I am just old enough to recognize the roots of this stuff but not quite old enough to have been in my musical prime while those roots were in the forefront. I like bands like Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and the like and as another reviewer said, this is not that sound at all. I do see some minor connection to the White Stripes, but mostly due to a persistent heavy bass line throughout this album.
   
   So to summarize:This is real retro rock. The era is 60's/70's psych rock as opposed to 80's punk & garage, but truly cool music. I am going to definitely try another disc from The Coral after completely digesting this one. And "Dreaming of You" is probably one of the better pop songs I have heard recently.



5. Imagine Arthur Lee and Jim Morrison sailing across the world in Captain Beefheart's ship, wreaking havoc and looting the musical riches they encounter in order to concoct the best, most bizarrely tuneful music on earth and you might be close to what the Coral's brand of psych pop sounds like.
   
   They composed this unnaturally assured debut while no one in the band was even 20 and that surely lends their music a youthful effervescence rivalled by nobody in these days of studied posturing and mechanical songwriting- they put across the tremendous fun they must have had making this album.
   
   I was initially drawn to this band because it was the very first time I saw anyone being actively influenced by my favourite band- Love, but I've become a Coral fan basically due to their blending formula in which the only rule seems to be that, as long as there's quality in it, every genre can be absorbed and consequently transformed in heady and highly entertaining pop music.
   
   In addition to their adventurous nature they write truly memorable songs, of which the supremely catchy "Dreaming of You", "I Remember When" and "Goodbye" are sterling examples, without totally abandoning a more gnarly and obscure side ("Skeleton Key", the bonus track "Time Travel").
   
   Who would have thought that the best album of the 21st century would mostly reach for inspiration from almost 40 years in the past?
   The Coral's debut does just that and settles the band not as promising hopefuls but as more than qualified contenders for the title of most vital band in the world.

5 comments about Can't Stand the Rezillos: The (Almost) Complete Rezillos.

1. The Rezillos (later The Revillos) exemplilfy what fun, melodic punk is all about. Peaking in the late 70s, their themes revolve things like flying saucers ("Flying Saucer Attack"), the usual frustrations associated with love ("Can't Stand My Baby") and wacky cover songs ("Someone's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In", "I Like It"). The male/female vocals adds even more versatility to their sound, and their covers always best the originals.
   
   Upbeat, goofy, and often quite clever, this has earned a special place in punk rock history as music just about anybody can enjoy. The Rezillos have enough of their sound in the past (via their covers), and the future (via their words) to make for a musical roller coaster ride you don't want to leave. Needless to say, not too many people can honestly say that they "can't stand the Rezillos."
   
   Weilrd name, odd tunes, great record.



2. The Rezillos are a singular R&R experience. Punk and pre new wave Devo.
   
   If You like the Rs you must check out their great and more talented successors the Epoxies, based in Portland. The Epoxies are as tight, with a punk rhythm section, a little more new wave keybords, and probably the best front person in music today -- Roxy Epoxy. Roxy sings with a beautiful bite, floats, skips, squeals, yodels, yelps and blends with her band mates.
   
   If you can possibly see them live - drop everything, leave right now and get your tickes. They have recently been touring with Against Me and The Soviettes.
   
   You must hear the Epoxies if you like the Rezillos.



3. actually, I will do anything the Rezillos tell me to do because they are really that good. If you actually can't stand the Rezillos then you are worthless and should leave our atmosphere and move somewhere where you cannot waste the good people's air. Ok, that was mean, but seriously, from the first moment that I heard this CD, I was hooked like a heroin addict.
   
   There is not one song on this CD that is not utterly top-notch. 'Flying Saucer Attack' is a catchy song about, wait for it, wait for it: Flying Saucers attacking us and "frying us alive." It might be the best song of the CD, and it might be the best song ever. 'Somebody's Gonna get their Head Kicked in' is an angry song, without the female vox, but is still catchy as hell and worth by itself the cost of the entire CD. 'Top of the Pops' is nothing short of stellar. I have no idea what '2000 A.D.' is about, but it is still a mighty catchy song. Hell, even the cover songs are done in a top-notch manner.
   
   The music transcends the simple punk-power chord structure and moves into a realm of utter perfection. The vocals are all done exactly as they should be, mixing male and female vox to create an extremely cohesive medley. Then the bassist is amazing. He provides a perfect texture for the band to play over, while at the same time demonstrating his own skills. The guitar is at times simple, but jumps into more complicated rhythyms and the occaisional solo.
   
   There is nothing wrong with this album. Get it or forever be deprived of one of the best sounds to ever come out of your speakers.



4. Some of the other reviewers cite this album as a must-have for any punk or psychobilly collection. I agree--but really, it's a must-have for *any* collection!

   My boyfriend asked me for a Rezillos CD for his birthday, so I bought this one. I'd never heard of them before, so after he'd blown out his candles and disposed of the pile of wrapping paper on the floor, we popped the album in for a listen. Madness ensued. 75 minutes later (give or take), I knew I had a new favorite band. I listened to Can't Stand the Rezillos during my 45-minute commute a couple of days later, and it ended up accompanying me to work every day for the next two weeks. I just couldn't take it out of the CD player--I mean, what could beat cruising down the freeway at 80mph, dancing and singing along with the most fun band that ever existed?

   The Rezillos are reminiscent of a weird Ramones/B-52s amalgamation--as fun as the Ramones, but more coherent--and as weird as the B-52s, but in my opinion much more listenable. They are, to me, the best possible combination of punk and new wave the late 70s had to offer. The distinctive style of the Rezillos' music, combined with stellar bass lines and enthusiastic vocals, makes for a non-stop barrage of super-fun songs that will make you want to jump around and dance--no matter how many of your fellow motorists on the highway are pointing and laughing at you while you do it.




5. I always get a kick out of reading the top 100 albums lists theat come out. The fact that this one is not on them immediately invalidates them in my mind. This is a beast of an lp with few weaknesses. The cd misses some transitions between songs which I find soemwhat distressing having owned the vinyl version for some 25 years. I always hated flipping the vinyl though; the pause was deathly as this is pure energy from start to finish! The guitars, bass, drums, and vocals are all lined up in an artistic madness that screams at you. There is an interesting selection of tunes. They vary little in style which I normally hate, but it works very well here. They are not anti-whatever that you find in many punk bands, but they're not having a love-in either, at least not one you can sit still to. A few talk about violence, but in a fun way, if that makes any sense. Not one cuss word in the whole thing.

   Dislikes:
   -Some of the vocals are weak - I'm not a big fan of Ms. Fife - yet most are as energetic as the music.
   -Some of the arrangements are a poorly produced. Another month in the studio with quality sound people and this could have been truly awesome.

   Likes:
   -Bass!!!
   -Guitar!!
   -Energy!!!
   -Bass!!!
   -Tunes! Some covers and many originals.

5 comments about Head Over Heels.

1. Although The Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine deservedly enjoy the accolades accompanying their respective positions as pioneers of the shoegazer genre pervasive in the late 1980s, the JMC's fellow Scots, Cocteau Twins, can be identified as a crucial component in the (semi-) popularisation of the style.
   
   Following the departure of bassist and founding member Will Heggie, Head Over Heels relies almost exclusively on the Twins' two strongest suits: Robin Guthrie's often-abstruse guitar production, and Elizabeth Fraser's wraithlike vocals (which she lent most famously to the 1998 Massive Attack single 'Teardrop') and indiscernible lyrics.
   
   The result is something of a synthesis of the trite precepts of punk, rock, dream pop and new wave combined to otherworldly effect. Although far removed from it's ominous predecessor Garlands (1982), Head Over Heels paradoxically both maintained the (considerable) critical and (modest) commercial appreciation the band had previously garnered, and signalled the dawning of a band honing their influential sound.
   
   A central ambivalence in the album's sound is that although Fraser's iridescent vocals could pass as lullaby ('Sugar Hiccup'), Guthrie's coextensive opaque guitar layerings and vapourous arpeggios ('Glass Candle Grenades') are often their very antithesis. The variance works however, as the album sweeps effortlessly from would-be requiem (the dirge-like 'The Tinderbox (of a heart)' and would-be jazz ('Multifoiled') to would-be U2 ('My Love Paramour') and back again.
   
   Indeed, Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and The Edge (U2) are as present in Guthrie's guitar as Will Reid and Kevin Shields (The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine respectively).
   
   Fraser's voice is the central attraction however, with a transcendent quality that can be deciphered in the work of vocalists as diverse as Jeff Buckley (with whom she was romantically involved), Bjork, Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Chino Moreno (Deftones).



2. The songs on this album are good. Unfortuneatly, I learned that the remastering left something to be desired in the mid-range of most of the album. I do not own a copy of the original, however, I would purchase that instead.



3. Ignore the whiny naysayer that cried a river because the Cocteau Twins "weren't anything like Siouxie & The Banshees"...By the end of the CT's career they were better than they ever were, whilst S&TB were pop-encrusted shadows of their former selves and glory.
   
   This is one of their top three albums (if not their best, competeing with the PINK OPAQUE and THE MOON & THE MELODIES). Still can't stand the track "Sugar Hiccup", though...definitely the least favourable on the album.



4. I am always up for a change and a chance offering. When I heard that the "twins" were compared to Siouxsie and the Banshees, well I thought it deserved a hear-see. This is echo chamber crud. Voices that are incoherent and music that sounds as if play in a trash can (appropriate place to place this CD) Sorry, Siouxsie could expell better music and sounds through their intestinals track better than this.



5. Most albums feature music which reveals the era in which they were recorded. But "Head Over Heels" by Scotland's Cocteau Twins doesn't sound like it belongs to ANY era, even though it was released in 1983. A beautiful rush of etheral magic, "Head Over Heels" stands in a class of its own. The slow-moving opener "When Mama Was Moth" has vocalist Liz Frazer delivering hypnotic (yet incoherent) chants, while the brooding "The Tinderbox (of a Heart)" marches along in all its dark glory. Things get upbeat in "In Our Angelhood" with great melange of guitars, and the single "Sugar Hiccup" holds up well. I've owned this CD since my days in college, and I like it more with each listen. The melodies these guys craft are some of the most beautiful I have ever heard. Mainstream listeners may not realize it, but the Cocteau Twins are among the most influential acts of the last 25 years, developing a unique and distinguished sound that would inspire later genres known as trip hop and ambient. Indie label 4AD re-released "Head Over Heels" with remastered sound supervised by Robin Guthrie. At first, I was reluctant to buy this CD, which, after all, was already reissued by Capitol in 1991. But the sound quality of the new 4AD release is a definite imporvement over the original, featuring a full-bodied sound that projects much better than Capitol's edition. So, even if you already have the Capitol release (or if you have no copy of "Head Over Heels" at all), you should make the upgrade and buy this great album reissued by 4AD.

1 comments about The Fashion.

1. Maybe it's just me, but this is definitely my most listened to album this year. There is something about the quietness of "Apt." & the addictive "Letters from an Ambulance" that make me want to become one with the Fashion (as in, one of the members). Though from Denmark, I think this cd has a good shot in the states; not having a bad song on the album, having some the Strokes-like riffs as well as influence from the Clash. Since the libertines broke up, this gives me another reason to love foreign bands & though they may not be good live (from video on youtube) things are looking up for this album.

5 comments about Just for a Day.

1. When it comes to Slowdive, fans are generally irrevocably split between giving the "Best of Artist" nod to this album or the following effort 'Souvlaki'.
   
   I would contend that the sophomore album is a more polished work but that 'Just for a Day' captures the essence and energy of a young band finding its way - and the results are frequently delightful.
   
   Washes of guitar seem to ebb and flow throughout the tracks, rising to magnificent crescendos and fading to nebulous atmospherics. The tracks "Celia's Dream" and "Primal" build in pulsating waves to dramatic conclusions, while there is a much lighter touch given to "Ballad of Sister Sue", "Erik's Song" and "The Sadman".
   
   This album puts the dream into dream-pop. It is a more ethereal and less hard-edged work than contempories from My Bloody Valentine and friends. Think blissed-out, dreamy, surging, peaceful with only occasional bursts of (superb) sonic violence.
   
   Certainly one of my favorite albums of all, containing two of my favorite songs in the shoegazer/dream-pop genre - the aforementioned "Primal" and "Celia's Dream".
   
   Sublime album that should remain a seminal part of the essential shoegazer collection.



2. Back at the end of 1991 when I first got this album, I was only 13 and just starting to buy music. Being musically inexperienced at such a tender age, I'd never heard anything like it before and was absolutley blown away. This is going to sound like sacrilege, but I liked it even better than My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless"! (Actually I still do).
   
   It definitely borrows heavily from MBV's swirley guitar delay feedback and obscured vocals, but Slowdive pushed this sound in a direction that was considerably more melancholy and emotional than MBV. And where MBV would sometimes rock out (making for some of their lesser moments in my opinion), Slowdive would never go for such crude antics and kept the overall sound on a distinctly ethereal plane.
   
   If you're new to the band, I would suggest you start with the album "Souvlaki", as it is definitely the most diverse of their recordings and thus is a good starting point to branch out from.
   
   In hindsight, although "Just For A Day" is in general a lovely album, I can understand that it would have been a disappointment at the time (which I remember was most definitely the view of the music press) after they had released a perfectly crafted taster in the shape of the "Holding Our Breath EP". If you're a fan of the band, I highly recommend seeking out this sincerely beautiful EP. The fact that it's really difficult to find these days probably says a lot about what other people think of it too, because it actually sold relatively well.



3. The album that divides the 80s from the 90s, that signes the death of shoegazing and the birth of dreampop.. a must-have



4. Not too long after I went ga-ga for My Bloody Valentine's LOVELESS, I picked this up and was somewhat underwhelmed. Basically it's agreeable atmospheric background music, but nothing that will stick in your head (except for, maybe, the first track). There's certainly nothing mind-blowing here. If you're into ambient music, this album might turn you on. Others, purchase with . . . eyes wide open.
   
   P.S. - judging from what I've read about Slowdive, I still intend to give their follow-up record SOUVLAKI a try at some point - I have hope that it's better than this one. Peace! UPDATE - I just heard SOULVAKI at a listening station and while it does sound like an improvement over JUST FOR A DAY with more distinctive songs, it still didn't turn me on much. Give me MBV any day, unless I just need to crash out. Just an opinion people! - to each his own . . .



5. This album is unbelievable. I have owned Souvlaki for quite some time now and generally avoided this one due to some poor reviews I had read. However, I recently picked it up on cassette at amoeba and I was blown away. It is easily better than souvlaki and one of, if not, the best dream-pop album of all time. The super-phased guitars will put you in a daze.

5 comments about Gala.

1. The title of "Gala"'s first track, "Sweetness and Light", is sneakily deceptive, as Lush never were so shallow as to sink into power-pop territory, and thank God their aims were never blatantly commercial because we might never have gotten music so complicatedly uncalculating. The best of the 15 tracks (both versions of "Scarlet" and "Thoughtforms", the hushed "Sunbathing", the brilliant "Hey Hey Helen") are underscored by a sadness that is never worked out (it's like a musical residue), yet the conception of the songs is far from morose. Lush terrifically energizes their soundscapes with a dreamy poppiness that is winning and still complex, and the songs here tend to change with the listener's mood, like a mood-ring you come across and never want to let go of. B+



2. This band burned bright for an unfortunately brief period. Gala is a great collection of songs from one of the best bands of the so-called shoegazer movement . As far as the songs go, there isn't a dud in the bunch but Sweetness and Light and De-Luxe are absolutely gorgeous songs, both among the best of all time. This is a great time capsule for a band that ended under the most heartbreaking of circumstances.
   
   Blake Ruiz



3. This is one of my favorite albums. For the last 16 years, I've found it very hard to file this away owing to its sheer sonic goodness and sharp production coupled with a dreamyesque sheen. Great stuff! Obvious comparisons to The Cocteau Twins have and will be made as it seems apparent to me that Lush was largely influenced by them. But Lush retool the formula CT laid out and adds a few flourishes and edges to their particular composition.
   
   Like The Cocteau Twins, Lush possess a strongly original sound. One that weaves a hypnotic tapestry around swirling atmospherics and shimmering guitars. One exposure to "Sweetness and Light" and I was awestruck. "Thoughtforms", "De-Luxe", "Hey Hey Helen", "Scarlet", and more all conjure a most alluring spell that binds the listener to a rapturous forray in listening. I'm also quite fond of Spooky, the follow up to Gala as well. Well worth a sample.



4. Hearing Lush is like stepping out of a creeky old barn into the bright sunlight on a hot summer day on fram in England. Their music is a waking dream that floods the senses with light and pure magic.The wet vocals and flanged guitars are what an LSD trip may be like without actually doing the drug. The band disbanded in 1998 but this album will live forever as Reprises best collection of previously released Lush eps while they were on 4ad.
   There can never be another band like this.
   Penny Ella Vodka
   Reviewer Extraordinaire



5. this album confused me greatly when i first heard it. the dreamy guitars and wistful melodies floating around the bouncy drums and throbbing bass...and those beautiful, haunting vocals, which seemed so buried in the mix that there were times when i had to strain my ears to listen closely. i loved how mysterious it all sounded. i was already becoming a Cocteau Twins fan, and this album reminded me of them...but in a much more rocking sort of way. Lush has the power to contrast their lovely blissful numbers with sngs like "Leaves Me Cold" and "Downer" which seemed to spark a bit of a more violent and jagged mood. and that kind of contrast left me cold for awhile...eventually, i grew into this album and i looked forward to hearing the future albums from this band. i was sad when they broke up, because by the time they released Lovelife, i was really hooked! recently, after years of having having this recording on cassette, i was pleased to be browsing a bargain bin and come accross a copy of Gala on cd. it's been great to rediscover the wonderous world of this album and take a trip back to the glory daze of shoegazing.

5 comments about Playing with Fire.

1. How does a music fan whose favorite groups include Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground, and The Jesus and the Mary Chain somehow manage to live forty years and never hear about Spacemen 3?
   
   Just lucky, I guess.
   
   There is very little that I can add to previous reviews of this band that has not already been mentioned. Minimalist brilliance? Check. Psychedelia? Check. Guitars set to feedback? Check. So... if you are arriving late to the Cape, sit back and enjoy the show.



2. The art rock of Spacemen 3 manages to avoid becoming pretentious and boring by serving up the same sort of expressionism and balance that marks the best of their ilk. Even at its noisiest and most chaotic, there's a melody to find; at its softest and dreamiest, there is an unmistakable gravity that keeps it grounded.
   
   "Honey" and "Come Down Softly to My Soul" roll out of the speakers like liquid that immediately turns to vapor in the ears. "I Believe It" is a cross section of Velvet Underground (with its building drone and hushed excitement) and the Doors (organ-driven psychedelia and slow poet musing). "Revolution" is reminiscent of Iggy & the Stooges, especially in the rough, crunching texture and half-bored, half-aggressive vocal delivery. And "Suicide" is an eleven-minute freakout that rivals anything made by the noise auteurs (and as such, can be alternately compelling and repetitive). If you're looking for solid hooks and meaty riffs, look elsewhere. There's a reason why the shoegazing scene owes a debt as much to Spacemen 3 as any of that band's contemporaries.
   
   Best cuts: "How Does It Feel?" "Revolution," "Honey," "I Believe It," "So Hot (Wash Away All of My Tears)," "Come Down Softly to My Soul," "Lord Can You Hear Me?" "Suicide," "Let Me Down Gently"



3. Honey. One of the most beautiful songs i've ever heard. The others? The following of a masterpiece, where echoes of 60's, 70's garage psychadelia reverb high on our ears.
   
   Revolution. To me the only band that had got the same uprising feeling with guitars and percussion is Hawkwind. They rock like Hawkwind and they can be beautiful like Velvet Underground, Love or Jesus And Mary Chain. Rock on, keep on, silence you may rest in peace.



4. In my opinion this is not only their masterpiece but it is also a personal top 20 favourite. They never did anything better before or after. I saw them at the Neew Morning in 80-something and was completely blown away. Seeing them play Suicide live for what seemed like 30 minutes was quite something.



5. This is the second of the Spacemen 3 discs I picked up and I like it even better than the first. The first was The Perfect Prescription, which is unbelievable. Both albums are phenomenal choices for everything from late-night listening to all-out rockin'. The tracks range from dreamy psychedelic wanderings (Honey, How Does It Feel, So Hot) to feedback-laden assaults (Suicide, Revolution). I've seen a lot of comparisons to the Velvet Underground in the reviews and I have to agree. It's got a very British garage-band minimalistic sound mixed in with incredible post-production and downright guitar genius.

   I'm a huge fan of Spiritualized and I am totally enjoying digging into the band's roots. I've also been checking out the other post-Spacemen outfits: Reverberation, Spectrum/E.A.R., Sonic Boom, and have liked all of it so far.

   This album is definitely worth buying.

5 comments about Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg.

1. I love Billy Bragg's lefty politics, his rough, un-taught voice and his tremendous guitar playing, but most I just love his courage. He's a good, at times clever song writer - "Walk Away Renee" was a nice surprise, and you just should have him in your catalog.



2. Now there's a way for people unfmailiar with Billy get an overview of his music from above. I've loved his lyrical abilities and evocative music that fuses both a folkie sensibility and a gritty modern edge for a long time. Very few other present day bands can do this well. Outgrabe is one of the most successful, and they've clearly been influenced by Billy, the grand old man of this genre. I wish Billy all the luck in the world, and I'm sure this CD will draw new fans into his musical space.



3. Billy Bragg thinks he's a modern day Woody Guthrie, championing the poor working class. Unfortunately he is not.Not only is he a hypocrite by writing for the right wing press when it suits him, but i find his 'right on' attitude rather nauseating. This is a man that supports a certain Mr Blair and is proud to do so. Therefore i fine his music rather patronising to people that (unlike him) are really struggling. Mr Bragg wouldn't know real suffering if it crawled up and bit him. At least Steve Earle walks it like he talks it! Beware of songwriters who claim to be working class they invariably aren't!



4. Listening to Billy Bragg is a very English thing to do. Perhaps British, but definitely English. His Essex consonants, largely unreconstructed by the passing years, his wonderfully vernacular use of the language (he even mentions Marmite, food of the gods, on "England, Half English"), songs about God-bothering footballers, unrequited boyhood lust at the school disco, and best of all, his withering political polemics laced with laugh out loud humour ("trapped in a hairstyle he no longer believes in").
   
   Politics is what most people associate Billy with, and for sure he did his share in the eighties ("I was doing about 300 gigs a year and only got paid for half of them - why should I be nostalgic for the eighties?") and still cares now. He still backs fair unions against bad bosses, supports hospices and fair trade campaigns, and believes that a better world is actually possible - only some kind of idiot thinks that is a bad thing, surely.
   
   But let's not forget that Billy has written some great songs about love and life as real people live it. "St Swithins" day is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard, aching in its sense of loss and grimy ordinariness. "Tank Park Salute" is a gorgeous and brave song about Billy's relationship with his father. There are many more in his canon. Like Dylan, like Guthrie, Bragg is not a "protest" singer to the exclusion of all else.
   
   Perhaps "New England", written early in his career, still sums up a lot of what Billy is about. It's a cracking tune, with a great chorus, which cheerfully pokes gentle English fun at his own political interests ("I'm not looking for a new England, I'm just looking for another girl") whilst being ostensibly a break-up song, and still manages to deliver one of the funniest lines in rock music - "I saw two shooting stars last night / I wished on them, but they were only satellites / Is it wrong to wish on space hardware?".
   
   A great English songwriter, who is increasingly a great contributor to modern debates on the nature of Englishness and the future of our nation. A national treasure in fact.
   
   Long may he reign.
   
   And another thing: in concert he is very good and very, very funny. He has an apparently bottomless fund of great stories and witty one-liners, fuelled by his ever present cup of tea, and even manages to make political discourses a laugh.



5. Based upon the fact that I only knew two songs ("New England" and "To Have and Have Not"), buying these CD's was a huge gamble. Not only did I find out upon purchasing it that I like Billy Bragg, but I discovered I LOVE Billy Bragg. This collection is not only a comprehensive and fairly complete sampling of his work, it is also a set of three albums, astounding unto themselves.
   The first disc is more bare-bones than the other two (and my favorite) featuring Bragg's characteristically clever songwriting and sparse musical accompaniment. This is of course, not without exception, most notable the fuller sounding "Great Leap Forwards", among several others.
   The second disc is a slight departure from the aforementioned sound, without deviating completely from Bragg's traditional style. More instruments, more production. My personal favorite from this one is "Way Over Yonder In the Minor Key", which features backing vocals from a woman who sounds uncannily like Natalie Merchant to me...however, I could easily be mistaken.
   The third disc is the shortest, however, nonetheless amazing as well.
   I constantly find myself reaching for this cd, and the only disappointment I have is that Billy Bragg is such an underrated artist here in America.

5 comments about D-Sides (Deluxe Edition).

1. I think this is the Gorillaz' second best album!! I love th "Hot Chip Remix" on the second CD, and I think it's one of the best remixes I've ever herd. I really recommend getting this CD, I'ts worth your money!



2. D-Sides (Deluxe Edition)
   When I got my first credit card I said to myself: whatever of Gorillaz stuff is released, I will not look for it in local shops - I just know it isn't there. Well, except CDs and DVDs, but you know, Russian distributors would rather churn out a lot of illegal poor-looking-and-sounding copies than spending their precious money on BLEH! LICENSED ONES! I got pretty fed up with that, and I gave up coming to local music shops. My chums have no experience of on-line shopping at all and are sure it's so damn expensive they can't afford it; therefore they say I'm crazy. And you know what? After getting D-SIDES I got convinced I'm obviously not.
   The first thing I saw when I removed the cardboard, was hard black CD-sized box, wrapped in film that had a sticker with the description of content and a picture of 2-D, sneering at me. What was inside? First of all, a set of 4 charming badges picturing Gorillaz-related symbols every experienced admirer of the fantastic four must have seen. 4 stickers of fantastic four, finally, to attach to your forehead and let the world to see you love the biggest band in the world. Then, a sew-on patch with a picture of Pazuzu. 2 CDs, of course, as promised. Need I say about musical content? DIVINELY. The only question is: why on Earth didn't they include Mr Softy's Balloon Race?!
   I can't help saying about two art prints, also included, as I think those are the cream of the set. Anyway, looking at the marvellously done pencil drawings, a bit grey and smeared by Jamie's hand, makes my day. For me, to get them was like to get a desired gift on my birthday. It's a lot like meeting the author in person. It's a living art. And these pale sketches are much dearer for me than hundreds of coloured.
   And a booklet of some already familiar artworks. :)
   Feels like Gorillaz possess kinda recipe of success behind the doors of KONG, otherwise how do they manage to organize their stuff in the way it literally shines with pure, naked magic? Maybe the answer is they do what they're supposed to do, and love what they do. Damon rocks. Jamie is genius. Murdoc is God. My advice: if there's no place in your town where you can buy Gorillaz stuff, if you want a piece of something real, a REAL THING spending your money on which you'll never regret, if you highly value works of an author - do add D-Sides to your cart and proceed to checkout. You'll thank me.



3. While Gorillaz previous B-Side album "G-Sides" was underwhelming at best, "D-Sides" is an authentic and sound glance at Gorillaz. Not every song on the CD's are necessarily amazing, truth be told a few are downright annoying, however the majority of the tracks are standout and some should've made it on "Demon Days". The Deluxe Edition includes stickers, album art, a patch, a few buttons and a whole hell of a lot of fan service. This isn't any ordinary b-side, its basically Demon Days 1.5



4. I love this CD and all the cool things you get with it are awesome! I like the bonus CD that you get too!! Awesome just awesome!!



5. This set is leaps and bounds above any other "collector's edition" cd's I've seen. First of all, the D-Sides album is incredible. Aside from a few lackluster tracks, it's a complete album comparable to Demon Days. Disc 2 is one of the best remix albums next to Laika Come Home. The packaging is the real winner here. The two disc digipak cd comes in a black box inluding 4 pins, 2 sketches of Gorillaz, a patch, stickers and a booklet. If you're not convinced yet check out Hong Kong or Stop the Damns - some of the best Gorillaz tracks thusfar produced. Disc 2 highlight is Kids with Guns (Turn to Monsters) - a completely new take. Forget the basic edition and pick this up.
   
   And be prepared for a third album. Demand it in fact!

5 comments about The Fine Art of Surfacing.

1. I have always been a fan of this band, but am not so rabid that I knew the politics behind their falling from the "American scene". Young and impetuous, they hit America with their British attitude and some of us didn't get it. Oops on both of us. This is as good as I remembered. These guys were a band that brought some brilliant music to the 70's scene when some of us really were tired of Popsicle Toes and Styx.



2. THE ART OF SURFACING is flat-out the BEST Boomtown Rats album in their career, even better than TONIC FOR THE TROOPS, if that's possible - there's not a bad apple in the bunch - so this review isn't about the classic album that I original bought as a kid in 1979 (as well as the single "MONDAYS") - here is my big gripe: if you're going to go to the trouble of tacking on "bonus" tracks to lure in longtime fans, why did the record label make the (lame) decision to exclude what (IMHO) is the best Rats song ever: the B-side to "MONDAYS" single, "ALL THE RAGE"? RAGE is the hardest-hitting, most "punk" sounding song the rats ever produced - all blistering beats, roaring guitars, banging piano, and Geldof's bile-spewing snarl - all under 3 mins. To say it is a tragedy not to have this song included on the CD reissue of the Rat's best and most beloved album is not an understatement. Next time? Still, all the CD reissues are very nice, so collect them all now before they go OOP!



3. The Boomtown Rats made a big leap to art-rock on their third album. They'd advanced their ambitions quickly over two albums, going from punky power rockers to anthems of the common Englander. For "The Fine Art Of Surfacing," they began to go for bigger things. The first single was unlike anything else they'd attempted, the controversial "I Don't Like Mondays." No guitars, just piano and an orchestra. The payoff was a huge international hit everywhere but the US.
   
   It also found Bob Geldof moving on to darker themes. Granted, the first two albums played with themes of suicide and paranoia, but for every "Living On an Island" on "Tonic," there was also a more lighthearted "She's So Modern." On "The Fine Art Of Surfacing," the songs are still often exuberant and hook laden, but thematically, never quite as chipper. It makes for some great songs again, especially "Wind Chill Factor Minus Zero" and "Sleep (Fingers' Lullaby)." "Surfacing" was the last excellent Rats album. While "Mondo Bongo" had its moments, the Boomtown Rats' records after this were never as even or as exciting.
   
   I do have a quibble about the re-master on "Surfacing." It seems to have been mastered way too "hot" for some of the songs. The drums and percussion compress out - especially on "Someone's Looking At You" and "Wind Chill Factor Minus Zero" - and distort. For a re-master, that's bad news.



4. Like many others, I have waited a long time for this to become available on CD again. It is one of my favorite albums. However upon listening with headphones (is there any other way?) the digital noise usually associated with low bitrate mp3s is everywhere. Particularly "Mondays", "Keep It Up", "Nice & Neat" and blatantly on "Episode #3". In comparing it to a CD copy of my own clean record, the sound of that, digitized though it may be, is much better than this release. Maybe we have become so digital that most of us no longer hear these imperfections, but as an avid present-day record listener, I recommend saving your money and putting it towards a quality turntable. Remaster? Possibly. High quality? Definitely not.



5. I saw the Boomtown Rats the first time on the tv show FRIDAYS in 1979 or 1980 and have been in love since.
   Everyone loves "Mondays", but "Diamond Smiles" is my friends all time fave and I will always love "Having My Picture Taken" or maybe "Sleep" or maybe, well, every song on this record is good.
   This is a GREAT album.